The aim of this paper is to evaluate the cyclic interfacial strength between thin film and its substrate by cyclic nano-indentation tests. The specimen used in this study is PET substrate/ITO coatings layered specimen. From the indentation load and displacement curve, we proposed an evaluation method for the interfacial strength. The results are good agreement with the interfacial strength evaluated by peel test. After cyclic indentations, the surface profile was observed by atomic force microscope. The number of elongates increased with indentation cycles when the indentation load is low, whereas elongates number is almost constant under high load cases. These phenomena can be explained by simple models. In this study, two types of fracture modes are proposed. They are "subsidiary fracture mode" and "buckling mode".


The authors have studied the interaction between the abnormal oocyte mutation and an inversion of the X chromosome, In( 1)sc(4), which has a proximal breakpoint in or near the heterochromatic region (ABO) that maternally interacts with the abo product. It has been demonstrated that the presence of X chromosomes carrying this inversion, besides a marked increase in the severity of the maternal effect of the abo mutation, produces a zygotic effect resulting in the lethality of the progeny of stocks homozygous for abo and sc(4). These results indicate that the sc(4) inversion carries an abnormal region indispensable for the development of abo zygotes from sc(4);abo mothers.


We propose a way of reasoning about minimal and maximal values of the weights of transitions in a weighted transition system (WTS). This perspective induces a notion of bisimulation that is coarser than the classic bisimulation: it relates states that exhibit transitions to bisimulation classes with the weights within the same boundaries. We propose a customized modal logic that expresses these numeric boundaries for transition weights by means of particular modalities. We prove that our logic is invariant under the proposed notion of bisimulation. We show that the logic enjoys the finite model property and we identify a complete axiomatization for the logic. Last but not least, we use a tableau method to show that the satisfiability problem for the logic is decidable.


This paper presents a brief review of the state of ocean energy technologies, with special attention to ocean wave and tidal current systems. Schematic outline of a set of selected converter technologies is presented with a view to inferring their operational aspects in relation to wind energy systems. Considering the emerging nature of this immensely potential alternative energy sector, issues pertaining to their grid-integration and subsequent effect on electrical network are discussed in a qualitative and subjective manner. While the observations deduced in this work provide a general impression of the current technological trend, only further research, development, & demonstration initiatives would reveal the scale and magnitude of the associated challenges. Nonetheless, this work may shed further light on how such near-commercial renewable technologies can be accommodated into long term resource planning scenarios, especially from the perspective of electrical utilities.


New Zealand has over 70 million possums (Trichosurus vulpecula), which collectively produce over 1.5 million kg dry weight of faeces per day. In this study we evaluated whether faecal sterol analysis could be used to identify faecal pollution from possums, and distinguish it from faeces from humans and other animals.
Possum faeces contain significant levels of sterols. However there are a number of distinctive features of the sterol profile of possums which could be used to distinguish possum faeces from other sources. Similar to human faeces, possums contain high levels of coprostanol which distinguishes them from herbivores such as sheep and cattle. However in contrast to human faeces, possum faeces contain high levels of 24-ethylcoprostanol. Ratios based on these differences (coprostanol/cholestanol > 6.0 and coprostanol/24-ethylcoprostanol < 1), when both present, appear indicative of possum faeces. Based on a survey of river water samples, possum faeces was not a significant contamination source in New Zealand. Source determinations should be supported by other faecal source tracking tools and consideration of potential sources actually present in a catchment.


Eye tracking technology in a head-mounted display has undergone rapid advancement in recent years, making it possible for researchers to explore new interaction techniques using natural eye movements. This paper explores three novel eye-gaze-based interaction techniques: (1) Duo-Reticles, eye-gaze selection based on eye-gaze and inertial reticles, (2) Radial Pursuit, cluttered-object selection that takes advantage of smooth pursuit, and (3) Nod and Roll, head-gesture-based interaction based on the vestibulo-ocular reflex. In an initial user study, we compare each technique against a baseline condition in a scenario that demonstrates its strengths and weaknesses.


A comparison was made of the clinical effectiveness of azithromycin (once daily for three days at a dose of 10 mg/kg in children or 500 mg/day in adults) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and cefaclor (standard doses for 7 to 14 days) in acute ear, nose and throat infections in an open randomized study. The group with azithromycin included 37 otitis media, 24 pharyngotonsillitis and 6 maxillary sinusitis (n = 67). The amoxicillin/clavulanic acid group, 22 otitis media, 19 pharyngotonsillitis and 6 maxillary sinusitis (n = 47) and the cefaclor group, 15 otitis media, 12 pharyngotonsillitis and 4 maxillary sinusitis (n = 31). Fifteen days after beginning treatment, 97% (65/67) of the patients who received azithromycin had improved or cured, compared with 85% (40/47) of those who received amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and 84% (26/31), cefaclor (p < 0.02). Pathogens were not eradicated in 3% (2/58) of the patients who received azithromycin, compared with 13% (4/28) who received amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and 15% (4/28) cefaclor. Patients with azithromycin showed an earlier clinical improvement and more rapid normalization of the leukocyte count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and acute phase proteins. No patient with azithromycin had adverse effects, versus 15% (7/47) for patients with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and 16% (5/31) for cefaclor. Treatment compliance was 100, 83 (39/47) and 84% (26/31), respectively (p < 0.01). We conclude that azithromycin treatment for three days is faster and more effective clinically and analytically than standard treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid or cefaclor in acute infections of the ear, nose and throat.


Subcutaneous tumor seeding after fine-needle percutaneous biopsy for hepatocellular carcinoma is a rarely seen complication. The authors describe a case of subcutaneous neoplastic seeding in a 70-year-old woman with chronic hepatitis C virus complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma. Ultrasonically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy was performed in segment II of the liver. The neoplastic seeding developed along the needle track used to carry out the fine-needle biopsy. The subcutaneous tumor was excised, and histological examination revealed a well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma.


People with disabilities have defended their rights and voiced their struggle for recognition collectively through civil society formations, especially from 1984 onwards. Immediately after the 1994 elections the post-apartheid South African Government embarked on a strategy to integrate, mobilise and enable the disabled to fully participate in the mainstream labour market as well as in employment in the Public Service, which aims to include 2% of people with disabilities by 2005. This target has still not been reached and in July 2006 the overall average figure stood at 0.15% nationally and provincially. To achieve this goal the South African Government has established legislative, institutional and policy instruments to avoid unfair discrimination towards disabled people and promote disability equity in employment and employment practices. Thus, an enabling environment is created by the South African Government. The challenges for all role players and stakeholders are to expeditiously and effectively take advantage of the enabling environment. A strong and pervasive political will becomes essential in all of the endeavours of the entire human resource management process and especially in the clarification of myths and misconceptions about people with disabilities. A comprehensive country-specific definition of disability and diversity sensitisation are fundamental to the realisation of the efforts and processes.


We consider curbside bus stops of the kind that serve multiple bus routes and that are isolated from the effects of traffic signals and other stops. A Markov chain embedded in the bus queueing process is used to develop steady-state queueing models of this stop type, as illustrated by two special cases. The models estimate the maximum number of buses that can arrive at and serve a stop and still satisfy a specified target of average bus delay. These models can be used to determine, for example, a stop's suitable number of bus berths, given the bus demand and the specified delay target. The solutions for the two cases are used to derive a closed-form, parsimonious approximation model for general cases. This approximation matches simulations reasonably well for many conditions that arise in real settings; differences of less than 10% were common. Our results unveil how suitable choices for the number of bus berths are influenced by both the variation in the time that buses spend serving passengers at the stop and the specified delay target. The models further show why the proxy measure commonly used for the delay target in previous bus stop studies is a poor one.


Analysis of Antiretroviral Drugs-Induced Adverse Elfects. In 1999, The Regional Center of Pharmacogilance and the Department of Infectious Disease of the Toulouse University Hospital set up a system to improve the data collection about antiretroviral-induced adverse reactionss (ADRs). From November 1999 to April 2003, a resident of pharmacovigilance collected ADRs reported with antiretroviral drugs during 2 weekly medical consultations. A total of 613 ADRs corresponding to 428 patients were reported, classified as "non serious" in 88.6% of cases and required the withdrawal of suspected drugs in 57% of cases. Our data show an improvement of antiretroviral drug-induced ADRs reporting.


Revved-up rust! Light-induced water splitting over iron oxide (hematite) has been achieved by using a particle-assisted deposition technique and IrO2-based surface catalysis. Photocurrents in excess of 3 mA cm-2 were obtained at +1.23 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode under AM 1.5 G 100 mW cm-2 simulated sunlight. These photocurrents are unmatched by any other oxide-based photoanode. FTO=fluorine-doped tin oxide. Copyright © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.


Spatiotemporal data visualization plays an important role for simulating the changes over time and representing dynamic geospatial phenomena. In aerial photogrammetry, image acquisition is the most important stage for obtaining high-quality products; and can be affected by various factors such as the weather and illumination conditions, imaging geometry, etc. 3D simulation of the aircraft trajectories at the planning stage helps the flight planners to make better decisions especially for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions in areas with mixed land use land cover, such as rugged topography, water bodies, restricted areas, etc.; since images with poor texture or large differences in scale may deteriorate the quality of the final products. In this study, a geovisualization approach for photogrammetric flights carried out with UAVs or airplane platforms was implemented using CesiumJS Virtual Globe. The measured flight trajectory parameters, such as image perspective centre coordinates and the camera rotations, the time of acquisition, and the interior orientation parameters (IOPs) of the camera were used for spatiotemporal visualization. In the developed approach, the EOPs and IOPs of the images were utilized to reconstruct the flight paths, the camera position, the footprints of the acquired images on the ground, and the rotation of the aircraft; and to present them on a 3D web environment precisely. The approach was demonstrated by using two case studies, one from a UAV flight mission and the other one from an airplane carried out with a largeformat aerial camera. * Corresponding author


Abstract. Rain can be measured and represented in many ways such as point data from rain gauges, grid data from meteorological radar, or interpolated data. In this paper we represent rain fields by implementing a rain cell model of convective rain cells. The rain fields are used as an input to a hydrological model to test the watershed response to spatial and temporal characteristics of the rain cells. As a case study we tested an extreme storm event over a semi-arid watershed in southern Israel. The rain cell model was found to simulate the rain storm adequately. The use of these modeled cells allowed us to test the sensitivity of the watershed hydrological response to rain cell characteristics and it was found that the watershed is mainly sensitive to the starting location of the rain cell. Relatively small changes in the rain cell's location, speed and direction may increase watershed peak discharge by three-fold.


Abstract Historians generally portray the Irish immigrants who came to the United States, fleeing the Great Famine of the mid-nineteenth century, as hopelessly mired in poverty and hardship due to discrimination, a lack of occupational training, and oversaturated job markets in the East Coast cities where most of them settled. Although the digitization of census data and other records now enables the tracking of nineteenth-century Americans far more accurately than in the past, scholars have not utilized such data to determine whether the Famine Irish were, in fact, trapped on the bottom rungs of the American socioeconomic ladder. The use of a longitudinal database of Famine immigrants who initially settled in New York and Brooklyn indicates that the Famine Irish had far more occupational mobility than previously recognized. Only 25 percent of men ended their working careers in low-wage, unskilled labor; 44 percent ended up in white-collar occupations of one kind or another—primarily running saloons, groceries, and other small businesses.


This paper presents a method designed to track and to recover the three-dimensional (3-D) shape of a road by computer vision. The method is based first upon an accurate detection algorithm which provides a reliable estimation of the roadside in the image. This algorithm works by recursive updating of a statistical model of the lane obtained by an off-line training phase. Once the sides have been located, a reconstruction algorithm computes the vehicle location on its lane, the 3-D shape of the road, and gives both the sides location and their confidence interval for the next image. The detection algorithm then looks for the roadside in this interval in order to limit the computational times, which are about 30-150 ms on a HP workstation.


Sulfolobus solfataricus is an aerobic crenarchaeon that thrives in acidic volcanic pools. In this study, we have purified and characterized a thermostable alpha-galactosidase from cell extracts of S. solfataricus P2 grown on the trisaccharide raffinose. The enzyme, designated GalS, is highly specific for alpha-linked galactosides, which are optimally hydrolyzed at pH 5 and 90 degrees C. The protein consists of 74.7-kDa subunits and has been identified as the gene product of open reading frame Sso3127. Its primary sequence is most related to plant enzymes of glycoside hydrolase family 36, which are involved in the synthesis and degradation of raffinose and stachyose. Both the galS gene from S. solfataricus P2 and an orthologous gene from Sulfolobus tokodaii have been cloned and functionally expressed in Escherichia coli, and their activity was confirmed. At present, these Sulfolobus enzymes not only constitute a distinct type of thermostable alpha-galactosidases within glycoside hydrolase clan D but also represent the first members from the Archaea.


Abstract. The Velodyne HDL-32E laser scanner is used more frequently as main mapping sensor in small commercial UASs. However, there is still little information about the actual accuracy of point clouds collected with such UASs. This work evaluates empirically the accuracy of the point cloud collected with such UAS. Accuracy assessment was conducted in four aspects: impact of sensors on theoretical point cloud accuracy, trajectory reconstruction quality, and internal and absolute point cloud accuracies. Theoretical point cloud accuracy was evaluated by calculating 3D position error knowing errors of used sensors. The quality of trajectory reconstruction was assessed by comparing position and attitude differences from forward and reverse EKF solution. Internal and absolute accuracies were evaluated by fitting planes to 8 point cloud samples extracted for planar surfaces. In addition, the absolute accuracy was also determined by calculating point 3D distances between LiDAR UAS and reference TLS point clouds. Test data consisted of point clouds collected in two separate flights performed over the same area. Executed experiments showed that in tested UAS, the trajectory reconstruction, especially attitude, has significant impact on point cloud accuracy. Estimated absolute accuracy of point clouds collected during both test flights was better than 10 cm, thus investigated UAS fits mapping-grade category.


By Joe Townsend and Alasdair Middleton. Directed by Catherine Alexander

Making a violin isn't easy: it takes 400 years of love, murder and the devil's whim. Weaving together tales from across Europe, this new folk opera is told through wild gypsy rhythms and a kaleidoscopic array of virtuosic playing. Whether made from the bones of a young woman's body or the strange alchemy of the violin-maker's craft, the old magic and wanton science surrounding the fiddle are brought to life in story and song. With music by Joe Townsend and words by Alasdair Middleton (The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Enchanted Pig).


Web-based channels are fast becoming an integral part of the channel strategy of traditional off-line retailers. This paper uses a game-theoretic approach to study the impact of Web-based e-commerce on retailers' choices of distribution channel strategies. At present most firms adopt a multi-channel strategy that includes both Web-based channels and pre-existing off-line channels. The analysis identifies this trend as an equilibrium of the game resulting from competitive pressure by other retailers, but shows that it is not the only possible short-run outcome. Other possible outcomes are: all sellers continue to sell via traditional off-line channels; some sellers adopt a coordinated dual-channel strategy (i.e., both on-line and off-line) when faced with competition from Web-based entrants; off-line sellers continue to sell via off-line channels when faced with purely on-line competition. The conditions for these equilibriums depend on the proportion of buyers unlikely to buy on-line and their level of discomfort with on-line channels. Traditionally off-line sellers can preempt competition from on-line channels by improving such features as convenience, personalized after-sale service, and trust. In so doing, they will also increase the factor of buyer discomfort associated with relatively new and unknown on-line channels.


ABSTRACT The genotypic diversity showed by the hybrid crossbreed of transgenic Mutiara (carrying African catfish growth hormone) with non-transgenic catfish (Mutiara or Sangkuriang strain) high enough (many polymorphic fragments) in the first offspring. The aims of the study were to detect genotypic diversity from Sangkuriang catfish, transgenic Mutiara, non-transgenic Mutiara and first offspring (hybrid F1) with RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) marker using 2 primary types (OPA-03 and OPA-06). Experimental method is exploratively used in this research with qualitative descriptive analysis. The amplification results show the OPA-03 primer (5'-AGTCAGCCAC-3 ') is the best primer that visualizes fragments (polymorphic and monomorphic) in all samples. The genetic relationship of the test fish using the NTSYSpc program shows that the OPA-03 phenogram in the first progeny of crossing the transgenic Mutiara male and Sangkuriang female has more genotypic diversity than other crosses. The first offspring of the broodstock crosses of the same strain (Sangkuriang and Sangkuriang) had a kinship of 70%, the crosses between non-transgenic Mutiara with Sangkuriang had 79% genetic similarity. The highest genetic similarity index (82%) was obtained from the first progeny of crossing transgenic Mutiara with Sangkuriang. Keywords: polymorphism, RAPD, phenogram, crossing, transgenesis


Soils are the essential link to both water quality and quantity. "Water loss, contamination, and purification are all directly affected by the soil. When soil no longer stores nutrients, regulates water flow, or filters chemical and biological contaminants, water quality is directly compromised (USCC, 1997). A soils management strategy, like the Clean Air and Water Act, is needed to address the fundamental problem of the loss of soil functions as we turn natural forested or grasslands into urban landscapes. A soil and landscape system should be viewed as a tool for stormwater infiltration, water conservation, and pollution control. Properly functioning soils have the potential to simultaneously improve the control of stormwater runoff, conserve water during the low-flow summer period, and reduce pollution associated with runoff. Currently, the permitting process does not recognize the value of a deep and permeable soil system as a stormwater management tool. A new approach to "Engineered Soils" (soils that perform to a measure of permeability, stability, and fertility) should be adopted to begin reversing this trend in land development (CH2MHILL, 2000). As this information is presented it will become evident that a relatively modest investment in more robust soil and landscape systems can have a leveraged beneficial effect on soil and water quality.


Background: Tinnitus has been shown to be strongly associated with anxiety and depression. The present study was conducted to assess tinnitus in patients with internal derangement of TMJ. Materials & Methods:170 patients with complaint of tinnitus referred for arthrographic examination of the TMJ were enrolled in the study. Disk positions were diagnosed as normal superior position, anterior disk displacement with reduction or anterior disk displacement without reduction. Symptoms such as tinnitus and blockage sensation in the ear was recorded. Tinnitus was recorded as absent or present Results: Out of 170 patients, males were 100 and females were 70. Tinnitus was present in 130 and absent in 40. Location of pain was TMJ in 80, lower lateral face in 20, bac of eye in 10 and temporal region in 20 cases. Other findings were painful chewing in 35, stressful life in 42, limited mouth opening in 78 and bruxism in 40 cases. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: There was high rate of tinnitus in patients with internal disc derangement of TMJ.


Hydrological and hydrochemical processes in the critical zone of karst environments are controlled by the fracture‐conduit network. Modelling hydrological and hydrochemical dynamics in such heterogeneous hydrogeological settings remains a research challenge. In this study, water and solute transport in the dual flow system of the karst critical zone were investigated in a 73.5‐km2 catchment in southwest China. We developed a dual reservoir conceptual run‐off model combined with an autoregressive and moving average model with algorithms to assess dissolution rates in the "fast flow" and "slow flow" systems. This model was applied to 3 catchments with typical karst critical zone architectures, to show how flow exchange between fracture and conduit networks changes in relation to catchment storage dynamics. The flux of bidirectional water and solute exchange between the fissure and conduit system increases from the headwaters to the outfall due to the large area of the developed conduits and low hydraulic gradient in the lower catchment. Rainfall amounts have a significant influence on partitioning the relative proportions of flow and solutes derived from different sources reaching the underground outlet. The effect of rainfall on catchment function is modulated by the structure of the karst critical zone (e.g., epikarst and sinkholes). Thin epikarst and well‐developed sinkholes in the headwaters divert more surface water (younger water) into the underground channel network, leading to a higher fraction of rainfall recharge into the fast flow system and total outflow. Also, the contribution of carbonate weathering to mass export is also higher in the headwaters due to the infiltration of younger water with low solute concentrations through sinkholes.


I discuss hadronic decays of $D$ mesons with emphasis on the recent discovery of charm CP violation in $D^0\to K^+K^-,\pi^+\pi^-$ decays. The measured difference $\Delta a_{CP} \, \equiv \; a_{CP}^{\mathrm{dir}}(D^0\rightarrow K^+K^-) - a_{CP}^{\mathrm{dir}}(D^0\rightarrow\pi^+\pi^-) = \; (-15.4\pm 2.9)\cdot 10^{-4}$ of two direct CP asymmetries exceeds the SM prediction by a factor of 7. A possible explanation is an enhancement of the penguin amplitude entering $ a_{CP}^{\mathrm{dir}}$ by QCD effects which are not understood yet. Alternatively, $\Delta a_{CP}$ could be dominated by contributions from new physics. In order to distinguish these two hypotheses further CP asymmetries should be measured. To this end CP asymmetries resulting from the interference of two tree-level amplitudes auch as $a_{CP}^{\mathrm{dir}}(D^0\rightarrow K_SK_S)$ or $a_{CP}^{\mathrm{dir}}(D^0 \to K^{*0} K_S)$ are especially interesting.


Value Activation is an integrated R&D programme carried out for the last eight years at the Royal Institute of Technology, Wood Technology and Processing. The name Value Activation refers to the basic understanding ofwood, where at present there are properties that are not fully exploited, but with help of a new sawing pattern could be fully utilized. The basic idea lies at an industrial level producing radially sawn timber with good profitability and with a lesser and mostly a controllable moisture movement. In short it implies an activation of values of timber, that has not been exploited in ordinary industrial production to date. This paper gives one example how the basic ideas in the concept ofValue Activation have been implemented to the industry. A new manufacturing system, the Prim Wood Method, has been proposed in order to improve the utilization of wood. One basic idea within this method is a new sawing pattern called star-sawing, which produces timber with two different shapes, viz., timber with rectangular and triangular cross sections. This method facilitates an efficient production of radially sawn timber with vertical annual rings, and without pith and juvenile wood. The triangles produced in star-sawing are used for producing high quality, knot free panels with vertical annual rings, PrimWood Prism. In this process, the timber is finger-jointed to form knot-free lengths and glued together into a block. This block can then be divided according to thickness into boards with vertical annual rings. In star-sawing, a certain volume of clear pieces will be obtained which are relatively long, i.e. longer than 1 metre. It is not desirable to finger-joint these boards, but instead to manufacture PrimWood Prism without a finger-joint. The first full-scale industrial plants based on the Value Activation concept are now in production in nothern Sweden. At full capacity, the saw mill will produce around 18000 m3 of star-sawn pine a year and shift. The plant for Prim Wood Prism will produce around 5 000 m3 a year and shift. The company is expect to generate two to three times the usual value from each log.


The fundamental purpose of this dissertation is to determine the extent to which many of the corporations within the United States are implementing formalized planning processes. The conditions surrounding the corporation have caused the movement toward a more systematic approach to corporate planning since there appears to be no better substitute for a formalized planning process to help assure the survival and growth of the firm.


In this study, an explosion combustion phenomenon of ammonium nitrate (ρ=1.7kg/cm3) was used instead of the explosive PETN and the ultra-high-speed destruction phenomenon of aluminum cylinder was analyzed. The mix powder obtained by mixing aluminum powder (ρ=2.7kg/cm3) and ammonium nitrate was used instead of the explosive PETN, and an explosive combustion phenomenon was generated using copper wire explosion by high-voltage capacitor bank (40kV, 12.5 /F). Ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder are kneaded in a combination ratio of 5 : 1 in mass. An aluminum cylinder was destroyed by the phenomenon. The experiments were conducted using various diameters of ammonium nitrate particle and the photographs of the phenomenon were taken by the high-speed camera (IMACON468) and the high-speed video camera (HPV-1). The fragments of aluminum cylinder were collected and their dimensions were measured. The explosion phenomenon and fragments were compared with the result by explosive PETN. This paper presents these experiments and analysis result. And, hydro codes have been applied to simulate the deformation behavior of the aluminum cylinder.


This article, a successor to the author's 2002 "Steinthal and Max Muller: Comparative Lives", attempts to situate the Semiticist and 'Orientalist' Ernest Renan in a nexus between the poles represented by Heymann Steinthal (1823–1899) and Friedrich Max Muller (1823–1900). Renan can be viewed as wavering — in the 1840s through 1860s — between (and perhaps developing from) a natural scientific and linguistic orientation influenced by Humboldtians such as August Friedrich Pott (1802–1887) and the Volkerpsychologist Steinthal and a racial ideology in linguistics similar to that of the more historicist linguist Max Muller. Max Muller had a similar set of influences in Paris to Renan in this period, such as their common amateur mentor Baron Ferdinand von Eckstein (1790–1861) and College de France professor Eugene Burnouf (1801–1852). But a crucial hypothesis relates to how much Renan was influenced in his change to racial ideology by the advent of the 1848 Revolution. The author explains how this hypothesis can be tested by specific further research into the manuscript of Renan's 1847 Prix Volney prizewinning essay.


Identifying transcription factor binding sites genome-wide using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-based technology is becoming an increasingly important tool in addressing developmental questions. However, technical problems associated with factor abundance and suitable ChIP reagents are common obstacles to these studies in many biological systems. We have used two completely different, widely applicable methods to determine by ChIP the genome-wide binding sites of the master myogenic regulatory transcription factor HLH-1 (CeMyoD) in C. elegans embryos. The two approaches, ChIP-seq and ChIP-chip, yield strongly overlapping results revealing that HLH-1 preferentially binds to promoter regions of genes enriched for E-box sequences (CANNTG), known binding sites for this well-studied class of transcription factors. HLH-1 binding sites were enriched upstream of genes known to be expressed in muscle, consistent with its role as a direct transcriptional regulator. HLH-1 binding was also detected at numerous sites unassociated with muscle gene expression, as has been previously described for its mouse homolog MyoD. These binding sites may reflect several additional functions for HLH-1, including its interactions with one or more co-factors to activate (or repress) gene expression or a role in chromatin organization distinct from direct transcriptional regulation of target genes. Our results also provide a comparison of ChIP methodologies that can overcome limitations commonly encountered in these types of studies while highlighting the complications of assigning in vivo functions to identified target sites.


Despite many peer-reviewed works that draw on tobacco industry documents that have now been made public, questions remain about how complete a picture has emerged. We present a conceptual framework that identifies and evaluates tobacco industry efforts to conceal information. Widespread document destruction like that in recent litigation in Australia is just one of more than a dozen tobacco industry efforts to prevent access, or at least timely access, to documents. Industry efforts range from small, locally employed initiatives to company-wide tactics. Some efforts, such as using "oral only" procedures, scrambling telephone lines, or involving lawyers in scientific projects, are preemptive. Others seek to deal with already existing documents by invoking bogus claims of legal privilege, stipulating "read then destroy" for memos, and rewriting problematic memos. That evidence of concealment has, in fact, been found in tobacco company archives attests to the futility of attempting to control the flow of millions of pieces of paper among tens of thousands of employees. However, researchers have yet to reveal the full story: We know of the industry's failures in concealing information, but not its successes. The industry's objective is not destruction of information per se, but prevention of public disclosure of that information. Exposing the tobacco industry's many approaches to concealment provides greater insight into companies' intentions and potential means for stripping away that concealment.


In this thesis, Samoan music and identity are woven together and expressed simultaneously through new composition, critical reflection, and performance. This thesis explores creative practice in both Samoa and New Zealand, and it engages with critical insights in order to produce a body of new creative work in music. Through these efforts, this thesis contributes a new original understanding for how to articulate Samoan identity in current musical composition.  In Samoa, cultural practices exist alongside global influences. These are found in song, language, contemporary music and dance in a variety of social contexts, and it is in this space of crossing boundaries where I explore my own identity as a Samoan-born, New Zealand composer, and a broader Samoan communal identity. The two contexts of my journey in Samoa and New Zealand offer sustained influences on my compositions both as a professional musician and educator. They provide very different expectations and cultures that I have negotiated, and have formed the basis of my creative work in this thesis. Adapting the Pasifika-centred framework of Epeli Hau'ofa in "Our Sea of Islands" (1993), in this thesis I provide a personal blueprint for a Samoan interpretation of creative practice in music, based on close readings and interpretations of concepts in new music composition.  Through this work I deconstruct my own colonial past to rise above cultural stereotypes, and instead move towards finding connections with local-based styles and values of music. In doing so, my creative output offers an original voice as a composer that is firmly based in Samoan realities, just as it extends to experiences and with a diversity of musical practices. Through my creative work I offer unique musical spaces and mediums that expresses my Samoan identity, in both music and culture. In this way, new composition is a means of navigating and negotiating musical creativity.  As I have discovered, I am not the only one moving in and out of these contexts as a Samoan musician and composer. I have worked together, alongside other Samoan composers such as Natalia Mann (based in Queensland, Australia), Metitilani Alo (based in Dunedin, New Zealand), Igelese Ete (based in Fiji) and Maori artists such as Riqi Harawira (based in Kaitaia, New Zealand) and artist BJ Natanahira (based in Kaitaia) sharing ideas and engaging in discussions around process of creativity and identity.  In creating our own musical voices, we also take control of the forms and shapes used to express our identities musically and culturally. As Thomas Turino points out in Music as Social Life (2008) this is about navigating and negotiating our identity according to the spaces we move within, and the music we associate with through composition and performance.  This is that journey.


Research has revealed facts about human memory in general and episodic memory in particular that deviate from both common sense and previously accepted ideas. This paper discusses some of these deviations in light of the proceedings of The Royal Society's Discussion Meeting on episodic memory. Retrieval processes play a more critical role in memory than commonly assumed; people can remember events that never happened; and conscious thoughts about one's personal past can take two distinct forms-'autonoetic' remembering and 'noetic' knowing. The serial-dependent-independent (SPI) model of the relations among episodic, semantic and perceptual memory systems accounts for a number of puzzling phenomena, such as some amnesic patients' preserved recognition memory and their ability to learn new semantic facts, and holds that episodic remembering of perceptual information can occur only by virtue of its mediation through semantic memory. Although common sense endows many animals with the ability to remember their past experiences, as yet there is no evidence that humanlike episodic memory-defined in terms of subjective time, self, and autonoetic awareness-is present in any other species.


An increasing body of evidence suggests that some of the contemporary forms of the physical environment have a negative influence on the wellbeing of its inhabitants. This paper presents a literature review on the impact of the built environment on the inhabitants' wellbeing in the residential context. The paper reviews recent literature from various interconnected fields such as psychology, physiology, and sociology in the built environment context. Previous research has shown that the characteristics of the built environment can influence all aspects of human life. The effect of the built environment on the physical and psychological wellbeing is extensively investigated. However, there is limited research on the relationship between the residential built environment and social wellbeing, as measured by social integration and cohesion which suggests the need for more exploration, particularly in the context of the Middle-East. The lack of understanding results in a disconnection between the local communities' socio-cultural needs and actual design and supply of housing. The broader aim of this research is to identify indicators that evaluate wellbeing, dwellings, and neighborhoods. These indicators can be used by researchers, architects, urban planner and policymakers to study and design neighborhoods.


The sorting operation is one of the most commonly used building blocks in computer programming. In machine learning, it is often used for robust statistics. However, seen as a function, it is piecewise linear and as a result includes many kinks where it is non-differentiable. More problematic is the related ranking operator, often used for order statistics and ranking metrics. It is a piecewise constant function, meaning that its derivatives are null or undefined. While numerous works have proposed differentiable proxies to sorting and ranking, they do not achieve the $O(n \log n)$ time complexity one would expect from sorting and ranking operations. In this paper, we propose the first differentiable sorting and ranking operators with $O(n \log n)$ time and $O(n)$ space complexity. Our proposal in addition enjoys exact computation and differentiation. We achieve this feat by constructing differentiable operators as projections onto the permutahedron, the convex hull of permutations, and using a reduction to isotonic optimization. Empirically, we confirm that our approach is an order of magnitude faster than existing approaches and showcase two novel applications: differentiable Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and least trimmed squares.


There is an increasing demand for lithography methods to enable the fabrication of diagnostic devices for the biomedical and agri-food sectors. In this regard, scanning probe lithography methods have emerged as a possible approach for this purpose, as they are not only convenient, robust and accessible, but also enable the deposition of "soft" materials such as complex organic molecules and biomolecules. In this report, the use of polymer pen lithography for the fabrication of DNA oligonucleotide arrays is described, together with the application of the arrays for the sensitive and selective detection of Ganoderma boninense, a fungal pathogen of the oil palm. When used in a sandwich assay format with DNA-conjugated gold nanoparticles, this system is able to generate a visually observable result in the presence of the target DNA. This assay is able to detect as little as 30 ng of Ganoderma-derived DNA without any pre-amplification and without the need for specialist laboratory equipment or training.


Background: Multiple micronutrient powders have shown a positive effect on anaemia prevention in children 6-59 months. For the purposes of uptake and sustainability, we explored ''willingness to pay'' for these health products at the household level for potential of co-investment in multiple micronutrient powders. Methods: During the intervention (six months), household surveys were conducted once with mothers of children 6-59 months in the Arusha District regarding willingness to pay for the multiple micronutrient powders. Results: Results from the survey show that about 66% of the target mothers are willing to pay for multiple micronutrient powders required for feeding of children at 0.068$ per sachet. Willingness to pay was associated with higher paternal education, higher maternal age, and families which do not keep animals. Conclusion: The results findings help to know the market situation of nutritional products. This information is useful for health policy planners in assessing economic viability and sustainability of the distribution of multiple micronutrient powders to consumers to avert micronutrient deficiencies and their effects on young children.


The article deals with contemporary aspects of gender inequality on the example of indigenous small peoples of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, substantiate its main tendencies and develop directions for achieving gender equality in aboriginal society. Historical analysis of the origins of gender inequality among indigenous small peoples was conducted. In the course of the study, such methods as analysis and synthesis were used to generalise gender inequality; a historical method for understanding its origin; statistical methods for determining modern aspects of inequalities; the logical method was used for making conclusions. The natural and economic circumstances of regions of the Russian Arctic in the context of their influence on gender inequality were provided. The traditional social status and the role of women in the Russian Arctic was studied. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the topic of gender inequality in the Russian Arctic was practically never discussed before. The survey showed that in indigenous people their mentality and their commitment to traditional nature management play an important role, which, according to the opinion of many aboriginal women, need more support at the state and regional levels, development of folk crafts, the creation of jobs and protection of this territory. The methods of achieving gender equality and improving the status of women of small indigenous peoples of the Russian Arctic were suggested. The conclusions stated what steps need to be taken to overcome gender inequality for women, what should be noted first and what is the key to achieving gender equality.


Submarine pipelines are many a time buried into a jet-blasted channel in the seabed. Seismic response of such buried pipelines are investigated in this paper. The earthquake is considered as a partially correlated stationary random proceeds characterized by a power spectral density function (PSDF). The cross-spectral density function between two random inputs along the length of the pipe is defined with the help of the local earthquake PSDF, which is the same for all points, and a frequency-dependent, exponentially decaying function (with distance). A lumped-mass model with 2-D beam elements is used to write the equation of motion. Soil resistance to dynamic excitation along the pipe length is obtained in an approximate manner with the help of frequency-independent impedance functions derived from half-space analysis and Mindlin's static stresses within the soil due to point loads. The responses are obtained by a spectral analysis for horizontal ground motions in two principal directions, which are assumed to coincide with pipe axis and the perpendicular to it. Using the proposed method of analysis, a parametric study is conducted. The results of the study help in understanding the behavior of buried submarine pipelines under seismic forces and its differences from that of the buriedmore » pipelines on land.« less


Energy consumption has become a critical issue for data centers, triggered by the rise in energy costs, volatility in the supply and demand of energy and the widespread proliferation of power-hungry information technology (IT) equipment. In response, researchers are developing energy-efficient data centers by incorporating energy-aware systems both at the IT level (shutting down servers or temperature-aware workload placement) as well as at the facilities level (shutting down air-conditioning units, increasing temperature of air supplied to the plenum). In this work, we explore a novel approach to coordinated-management of IT systems and its cooling infrastructure to joint power and temperature objectives. In particular, for a given total IT workload, we present a method to determine the optimal settings of computer room air-conditioning units (CRACs) in a data center so as to minimize overall energy consumption in the data center while satisfying specified temperature constraints. Using potential fluid-flow theory, our approach identifies distinct thermal zones associated with each CRAC and then provisions cooling power to match the heat generated from the racks in that zone. We illustrate the resulting range in behavior and potential for energy savings in a large 10,000 sqft commercial data center with 10 CRACs and 186 racks.


urpose. The aim of this study was to analyze physical basis and assess opportunities and advantages of new ultrasound technologies: quantitative assessment of acoustic structures (Acoustic Structure Quantification, ASQ), ultrasound elastography (USE), mapping of microvascular bedflow with high spatial and temporal resolution (Superb Microvascular Imaging, SMI) in evaluation of patients with venous thrombosis of lower extremities. Materials and methods. The study involved 72 patients (41 men 56,9% and 31 women – 43,1%) aged 42-85 with venous thrombosis of lower extremities (144 lower extremities). All patients had undergone standard ultrasound investigation including B-mode, color duplex or power doppler imaging modes. In addition to standard modes we used new ultrasound technologies announced by Toshiba Medical Systems and listed among options in ultrasound system AplioTM 500. Results. We assessed condition of main veins of lower extremities, including revealing of thrombotic changes and estimation of the spreading level and composition of thrombotic masses. During dynamic follow-up signs of the initial stages of recanalization were revealed and comparison of thrombolysis process intensity with further follow-up studies was performed. A significant advantage of new technologies in comparison with a standard ultrasound examination was established. Conclusions. Acoustic Structures Quantification, ultrasound elastography and Superb Microvascular Imaging of Toshiba Medical Systems can be effectively used for examining patients with venous thrombosis in the system of inferior vena cava. Taking into consideration the fact that these technologies are highly informative, not time consuming and simple in everyday use they can be recommended to be included into standard ultrasound investigation for precise assessment of revealed abnormalities.


The thermohaline circulation in an idealized marginal sea is studied using both numerical and analytical models. The circulation is forced by repeating an annual cycle of cooling in the interior of the marginal sea for 2 months and turning off the surface forcing for 10 months. The marginal sea is connected to an open ocean through a narrow strait, thus providing a means to equilibrate the cooling within the marginal sea by exchange with the open ocean. The resulting upper ocean circulation consists of a warm boundary current that flows into the marginal sea through the strait that is gradually eroded as it circulates cyclonically around the marginal sea. The interior of the marginal sea is relatively cold and has a closed cyclonic circulation. The mean downwelling is concentrated within a narrow boundary layer that, for a Laplacian parameterization of subgridscale mixing of density and momentum, has a width of Ld 1/ 2 and an along-boundary decay scale of Ld 3/ E , where Ld is the internal deformation radius, is the horizontal Prandtl number, and E is a horizontal Ekman number. The net downwelling outside of this boundary layer is very small at all times. The heat balance near the boundary is between vertical advection and horizontal diffusion at scales smaller than the mesoscale. In the interior, cooling by surface forcing and vertical convection is balanced by horizontal eddy fluxes. For some configurations, these eddy fluxes are characterized by very low frequency oscillations (periods of 1–10 years) in the gyre-scale circulation. One of the main results of this study is that the downwelling in the marginal sea is concentrated near the boundaries and depends on details of the mixing of momentum and density on scales smaller than the mesoscale. The basin-scale stratification and circulation also depend on how momentum and density mix within this boundary layer. This suggests that, in addition to resolving the mesoscale eddy field, improved parameterizations of submesoscale mixing are needed to properly represent the circulation in marginal seas and the downwelling limb of the thermohaline circulation. 1. Department of Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, 02543, U.S.A. e-mail: email@example.com Journal of Marine Research, 61, 1–25, 2003


Photodetectors have been demonstrated to have broad applications in optical communication, environmental protection, biomedical monitoring, and so on. However, the applications of these photodetectors face great challenges due to the difficulties in powering these vastly distributed detectors and their limited photoresponsivity. At the same time, the invention of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) provides a novel way for generating a high-voltage low-current power supply with well-controllable output, making a promising approach to trigger photodetection. This review article summarizes the existing research work on combining TENGs with photodetectors through four different configurations. These research studies achieved self-powered or active photodetectors enabled by TENGs, explored the novel photodetection mechanisms, and demonstrated TENG output for enhancing the photoresponsivity, which will promote the relevant research toward self-powered photodetection with greatly improved performance.


The objective of this work is the simulation of saturated and unsaturated flow in a karstified aquifer using a double continuum approach. The HydroGeoSphere code (Therrien et al., 2006) is employed to simulate spring discharge with the Richards equations and van Genuchten parameters to represent flow in the (1) fractured matrix and (2) conduit continuum coupled by a linear exchange term. Rapid vertical small-scale flow processes in the unsaturated conduit continuum are accounted for by applying recharge boundary conditions at the bottom of the saturated model domain. An extensive sensitivity analysis is performed on single parameters as well as parameter combinations. The transient hydraulic response of the karst spring is strongly controlled by the matrix porosity as well as the van Genuchten parameters of the unsaturated matrix, which determine the head dependent inter-continuum water transfer when the conduits are draining the matrix. Sensitivities of parameter combinations partially reveal a non-linear dependence over the parameter space. This can be observed for parameters not belonging to the same continuum as well as combinations, which involve the exchange parameter, showing that results of the double continuum model may depict a certain degree of ambiguity. The application of van Genuchten parameters for simulation of unsaturated flow in karst systems is critically discussed.


Power-to-Methane as one part of Power-to-Gas has been recognized globally as one of the key elements for the transition towards a sustainable energy system. While plants that produce methane catalytically have been in operation for a long time, biological methanation has just reached industrial pilot scale and near-term commercial application. The growing importance of the biological method is reflected by an increasing number of scientific articles describing novel approaches to improve this technology. However, these studies are difficult to compare because they lack a coherent nomenclature. In this article, we present a comprehensive set of parameters allowing the characterization and comparison of various biological methanation processes. To identify relevant parameters needed for a proper description of this technology, we summarized existing literature and defined system boundaries for Power-to-Methane process steps. On this basis, we derive system parameters providing information on the methanation system, its performance, the biology and cost aspects. As a result, three different standards are provided as a blueprint matrix for use in academia and industry applicable to both, biological and catalytic methanation. Hence, this review attempts to set the standards for a comprehensive description of biological and chemical methanation processes.


Objective : The main objective of this paper is to present a novel model for classifying senior patients into different apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) categories based on their clinical variables. Methods and Materials : The proposed model is a generalized regression neural network (GRNN). Three important variables were first selected from the original 30 clinical variables. The GRNN was trained using 75 patients that were randomly selected from the total117 patients. The remaining 42 patients were used for testing GRNN model. The design parameter of the network, i.e., the spread of the radial basis function, was empirically optimized. To alleviate the model complexity, the original AHI values were dichotomized into two different groups, i.e., AHI>13 and AHI<=13. The use of GRNN for this application appear fairly novel, notwithstanding that there is a host of literatures on predicting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome from demographic or other easy means to assess clinical variables. Results : The proposed model has sensitivity and specificity of 95.7% and 50.0%, respectively, for the training cases, while 88.0% and 52.9%, respectively, for the testing cases. Conclusion : The proposed neural network model has outperformed existing classification approaches in terms of classification accuracy and generalization, thus it can be potentially used in clinical applications, which would lead to a reduction of the necessity of in-laboratory nocturnal sleep studies.


: This article discusses the structural and functional features of a new family of membrane receptors including alpha-adrenergic and beta-adrenergic receptors for catecholamines, muscarinic receptors for acetylcholine, and receptors for histamine, dopamine, serotonin, and neuropeptides such as angiotensin. All these receptors are coupled to GTP-binding proteins, called G proteins. All G proteins have similar membrane topologies with a single peptide chain composed of seven membrane-spanning domains separating a series of successive extracellular and intracellular portions. Results of studies of beta-adrenergic receptors suggest that some amino acids in the seven membrane-spanning domains are part of the ligand-binding site, whereas the protein G-coupling site seems to involve amino acids located in the third cytoplasmic loop and in the C-terminal extremity, which also contains the phosphorylation sites. Genes encoding this family of receptors exhibit sequence homologies and also contain sequences which may be involved in the regulation of the level of expression of these receptors. Recent development of a receptor-expressing bacterial system can be expected to provide significant advances in the accurate investigation of receptor structure-function correlations.


Manufacturing organizations face intertemporal choice problem, i.e., falling victim to pursuing short-term financial objectives or pursuing long-term environmental protection and social equity objective. Despite of the need to balance the present with the future, most sustainability research is centred on the tension between business and society, irrespective of time. We argue in this research that principles of Industry 4.0 could contribute to mitigating this intertemporal tension in sustainable manufacturing, moving towards a more sustainable society as well as world-class sustainable manufacturing.


This paper presents the measured behavior of an anchored segmental retaining wall. In an attempt to understand the overall mechanical behavior of the anchored segmental retaining wall and to confirm the applicability of the design assumptions, an extensive monitoring program was implemented for a 7-m-high anchored segmental retaining wall. The measured horizontal earth pressures and the inferred tensile loads in the reinforcements indicated that the state of stress within the reinforced soil mass is higher than the Rankine active state of stress and that by Coulomb wedge analysis, approaching to that based on the FHWA design approach for inextensible reinforcements. The measured performance satisfied the minimum performance requirements for the internal stability with a maximum wall movement comparable to that reported for walls with inextensible reinforcements. The wall survived severe rainfalls during and after the wall construction, exhibiting an excellent performance in terms of drainage. Implications and findings from this study are discussed.


This research as a case study in "Industri Hilir Teh Walini" aimed to: (1) describe the marketing mix strategy, (2) examine the influence of marketing mix strategy on sales, (3) know the sales performance of products, (4) forecast the future demand of primary products, and (5) explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Descriptive explanation, multiple linear regression analysis, one way analysis of variance, moving average forecasting, and SWOT analysis were conducted. This research showed that in the product mix as a component of marketing mix, this business unit offers tea products in various packaging and flavoring. The price determination conducted based on cost, market competition, and standards in certain lines. The promotion mix used are Above and Below The Line communication strategy. The place mix conducted by distributing products through selective distribution channel and direct channel. Promotion cost and flavor variants variables of the marketing mix were proven to have positive significant influence on the sales. Based on the one way analysis of variance, grouped tea product sales of tea bag, loose and instant tea, and ready to drink tea were significantly different. Forecast of black tea bag, lemon flavored black tea bag, and green tea bag sales volume in 2014 which give the best sales performance tend to be fluctuated. The SWOT analysis showed that this business unit's position is in quadrant 1 which supports the SO (Strengths-Opportunities) strategy.


In this study, the basic material for sound absorption was porous nonwoven made of polyester nonwoven and low-melting polyester fiber. Nonwoven was then attached with foam polyurethane as composite plank for sound absorption and sound isolation. We used two microphone impedance tubes for sound absorption test and INSTRON 5566 mechanical testing machine for tensile test. The optimum sound absorption coefficients as 0.67 ± 0.008 was obtained when density of foam polyurethane was 1.0 Kg/m3 with thickness of 20 mm; Polyester nonwoven were 9 layers; and low-melting polyester fiber was 30 wt% with thickness of 10 mm. Specimens obtained the maximum fracture stress when it contained low-melting polyester fiber at 30~40 wt%. The results of this study could be applied in the partitions inside ships, vehicles or buildings.


Background Extreme sports are popular and include motorised and non-motorised vehicle sports, e.g. motocross, mountain biking and water skiing, as well as non-vehicle sports, e.g. rock climbing. The causes of death, contributing factors and potential to prevent deaths in extreme sports are poorly understood. Objective To understand the causes of death and contributing factors in extreme sports in Australia. Design A case-series analysis was undertaken using the National Coronial Information System (NCIS) in Australia. Setting Extreme sports, including recreational and professional participants. Patients Cases are 'closed' NCIS fatal cases aged 15 to 64 years who died in the period 2000 to 2016 while participating in an extreme sport. Interventions None. Main Outcome Measurements Theses include the cause of death, mechanism of injury, contributing factors, demographic data, case narratives, and sport participation. Results Using a narrow definition of extreme sports (i.e. including sports such as kayaking, paragliding, rock climbing, snow sports and mountain biking) there were 693 deaths. Using a broader definition of extreme sports, e.g. including sports such as diving, horse racing, motor racing and quad bike use, there were 995 deaths during the same period. Approximately 88% of cases in either analysis (broad or narrow) were males, with age distributed relatively evenly from 15 to 54 years. The largest two broad sports categories were individual water sports (including surfing/boogie board 120/693) and wheeled motor sports (including motorcycling 192/693), combined accounting for over half of all cases in either analysis. There were over 50 deaths in skydiving/paragliding/parasailing. Blunt force trauma was the main cause of death, 65% of 693, followed by drowning 20% and cardiac 11%. Conclusions The potential for preventing a proportion of blunt force trauma and drowning deaths through controls, such as event planning, individual preparation and equipment, will be examined based on the case narratives.


Before independence, the majority of geography graduates from the University of Zimbabwe, particularly blacks, used to become teachers in secondary schools. Employment opportunities outside the teaching profession were severely restricted for blacks. Since 1980, however, employment prospects for geography graduates have widened considerably. Although this trend is still on a small scale, it nonetheless is following the pattern in developed countries where only a minority of geography graduates now become teachers. In the United Kingdom, for instance, only about 20% of the annual output of geography graduates in the early 1980s were likely to seek employment in education. The remainder got employed in a wide spectrum of jobs in administration, business, commerce, industry and the environmental field (Balchin, 1983; Briggs, 1988). A sample survey conducted in late 1986 of all Britisn students who obtained their first degrees in 1980 found that, in terms of all jobs held by geography graduates over the six years, 22% were in banking and finance, followed by education with 19% and public administration with 17% (Johnston, 1990). At the University of Glasgow, 28% of the geography graduates between 1981 and 1987 went into business and finance as their first destinations after university while only 18% went into teacher training (Briggs, 1988).


We propose a motion curve optimization method based on a genetic algorithm. A motion curve is a function of displacement of a drive part of a machine with respect to time. In a curve optimization using a standard genetic algorithm, an optimized curve is searched by repeatedly applying genetic operations to design variables that define the shape of motion curves. In contrast, the algorithm we proposed directly treats curves as solutions without design variables, and we also propose genetic operations for motion curves. These are methods that can generate a new curve by numerically synthesizing several curves; even more complex curves could be created by applying the operations repeatedly. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through optimization of a motion curve to decrease vibration at the surface of a liquid in bottles for a bottling machine.


Neuronal impulse activity of various brain structures was studied in rabbits in conditions of artificial thirst elicited by intrabrain injection of 0.3-0.5 M NaCl solution (from 5 to 8 mcl). Specific organization was revealed of the impulse flow at drinking motivational excitation, i.e., domination on interval histograms of certain intervals (20-40 and 100-200 ms). Comparative analysis of activity patterns of both different and the same neurones in conditions of natural and artificial thirst showed a resemblance of dominating intervals values that testifies to specificity of the observed neural activity characteristics, reflecting drinking motivational excitation. Thus, an interval code is found corresponding to drinking motivational state. P. K. Anokhin's notions about anticipating reflection of reality find their expression in anticipating reactions of brain neuronal activity.


This article examines online video on demand platforms as a new dissemination window for audio-visual content in North America, specifically, in the less-known cases of Mexico and Canada. The comparative study describes and discusses the markets and industrial organization of these subsectors and highlights the common and distinctive characteristics of their ecologies vis a vis United States' strong hold over the screen content industry in the region. The main line of inquiry is—what is the contribution of this new window regarding the provision of a more diverse screen outlet ecology in the current context of concentration in the audiovisual sector? In this way, the article connects with the long-standing debate between optimistic and skeptical accounts of whether digital technologies can disrupt traditional concentration tendencies in the cultural industries. To answer the research question, new platform environments were mapped and classified to produce original statistics. These results were compared with official and market statistics; document analysis of news, business and government reports. The article argues that asymmetries in the three countries' screen landscape across the region have been carried over to the new dissemination window and that outlet diversity does not translate into exposure diversity. The article also empirically monitors challenges to the availability of diverse content providers.


Background Pancreatic cancer (PC) was regarded as the 4th principal cause of cancer-related fatalities in the United States and patients usually suffered from severe nutrition deficiency, muscle wasting, as well as bone loss. In our previous research, we have found that PC-derived exosomes potentially initiate insulin resistance in skeletal muscle cells. However, the role of exosomes in the PC-related bone loss remains unknown. Methods The effect of PC-derived exosomes on the osteoclast differentiation and femoral bone structure in the orthotopic xenograft mouse model were investigated. MiRNA expression profiles were detected and a dual luciferase experiment was conducted to identify the direct target of miRNA. Results Our data showed that PC-derived exosomes significantly induced osteoclast differentiation and increased expression of NFAT2, TRAP, CTSK and MMP-9. The bone volume fraction and trabecular thickness of femur significantly reduced in osteoporotic model. Microarray analyses and luciferase reporter assay showed that the process was, at least partially, mediated by the miR-125a-5p/TNFRSF1B signaling pathways. Conclusion According to the results, novel insights have been claimed the effect of exosomes derived from PC on bone deterioration and explained correlation between PC and cancer-related bone loss.


Due to motorization the heavy horses, in particular draught horses and carriage horses, were deprived of their "raison d'être". At present therefore, they mostly are found in small livestocks. The past few years they regained some significance through their work in the forests, as an attraction in tourism or somewhere else. In German speaking countries approximately 15 horse breeds must be considered to be threatened in their existence. Breeding history, appearance, use and geographical distribution of 12 of them are discussed in this article.


The present study is aimed to design an adaptive mobile scaffolding System (AMSS) to provide educational scaffolding to students that is compatible with their cognitive style simplicity vs complexity (CSSC), and to measure the effectiveness of the model in enhancing students' digital well-being (DWB) in the Faculty of education, University of XXXX. Semi-experimental design of two groups was used: the first experimental group received unified mobile scaffold regardless of their cognitive styles. The second experimental group received mobile scaffold that was organized and directed to the students based on their characteristics related to their CSSC. Both experimental groups received mobile scaffold as a complementary component to the lectures delivered for the Technological Innovations in Education course in the General Diploma in Education. The study sample consisted of (71) students who met the requirements and they were randomized to two experimental groups. To examine the effectiveness of the AMSS, a DWB scale was developed. Kelly's scale of CSSC was used to identify students who fell within the scope of this style. The results were statistically analyzed using T-test to compare between the groups and to determine the significance of differences. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed model of AMSS in developing the students' DWB compared to the unified scaffold model.


The growing energy footprint of communication networks has raised concern about the sustainability of future network development. The GreenTouch consortium was founded to help counter this trend by developing and integrating green network technologies from the access to the core. In order to evaluate these technologies, an end-to-end network power model was developed in the form of the Green Meter, a tool to assess the overall impact and overall energy efficiency benefits of an entire portfolio of solutions. In this paper, we describe the methodology of the Green Meter for the residential fixed access portion, which was extended to include metro aggregation. A baseline architecture for optical access and metro aggregation networks is defined, and is adapted to other scenarios integrating future technologies. The performance is evaluated each time through a mathematical model that captures the energy savings at the component level and has the ability to compute the overall system-level energy savings. We show that energy efficiency can be improved 29-fold over a decade (2010-2020) with businessas- usual trends, and with the added effort of introducing GreenTouch solutions, this could be further improved to achieve a 257-fold increase in energy efficiency. The results confirm that an emphasis on green network design can indeed have a huge impact on reducing the energy consumption of an optical access infrastructure.


Background: Mild to severe post-transfusion adverse reactions have been reported in a proportion of immunodeficient patients receiving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Anti-IgA antibody has been proposed to be associated with development of such reactions. Objective: To assess the association between anti-IgA levels of different isotypes and adverse reactions induced in immunodeficient patients following infusion of IVIg. Methods: In this study, IgM, IgG and IgE anti-IgA antibodies were measured by an indirect ELISA method in serum samples from 31 patients with a variety of immunodeficiencies receiving IVIg and 24 normal individuals. Results: Anti-IgA antibody of all three isotypes were detectable in all sera. However, when presented as proportion of total IgA (anti –IgA/total IgA)IgG, IgE isotypes are significantly higher in patients with adverse reactions compared to those without reactions or normal subjects. Conclusion: Both IgG and IgE anti-IgA antibodies may contribute to the development and severity of adverse reactions in some patients receiving IVIg.


Despite recent progress in elucidating the genetic basis for behavioral variation, the effects of the developmental environment on the maintenance and generation of behavioral variation across multiple traits remain poorly resolved. We investigated how nutritional status during development affected behavioral variation and covariance between activity in an open field test and response to cues of predator presence in the house cricket (Acheta domesticus). We provided 98 juvenile crickets with either a high or low quality diet during development, throughout which we measured body mass, activity in a modified open-field, and response to predator excreta twice every week for 3 weeks. Diet quality affected growth rate but not average activity or response to cues of predator presence, nor the correlation between the 2. However, repeatability (&tgr;) in response to cues of predator presence was reduced by 0.24 in individuals exposed to the high quality diet versus the low quality diet. Larger individuals also increased their response to predator cues when reared on a high quality diet, suggesting negative feedbacks between growth rate and antipredator behaviors. Our results also indicate that changes in the developmental environment are not sufficient to collapse behavioral syndromes, suggesting a genetic link between activity and predator cue response in house crickets, and that nutritional stress early in life can lead to more consistent behavioral responses when individuals faced predatory threats. Our results demonstrate that subtle differences in the quality of the environment experienced early in life can influence how individuals negotiate behavioral and life-history trade-offs later in life.


Wireless networks with a minimum inter-node separation distance are studied where the signal attenuation grows in magnitude as 1/ρ/sup δ/ with distance ρ. Two performance measures of wireless networks are analyzed. The transport capacity is the supremum of the total distance-rate products that can be supported by the network. The energy cost of information transport is the infimum of the ratio of the transmission energies used by all the nodes to the number of bit-meters of information thereby transported. If the phases of the attenuations between node pairs are uniformly and independently distributed, it is shown that the expected transport capacity is upper-bounded by a multiple of the total of the transmission powers of all the nodes, whenever δ>2 for two-dimensional networks or δ>5/4 for one-dimensional networks, even if all the nodes have full knowledge of all the phases, i.e., full channel state information. If all nodes have an individual power constraint, the expected transport capacity grows at most linearly in the number of nodes due to the linear growth of the total power. This establishes the best case order of expected transport capacity for these ranges of path-loss exponents since linear scaling is also feasible. If the phases of the attenuations are arbitrary, it is shown that the transport capacity is upper-bounded by a multiple of the total transmission power whenever δ>5/2 for two-dimensional networks or δ>3/2 for one-dimensional networks, even if all the nodes have full channel state information. This shows that there is indeed a positive energy cost which is no less than the reciprocal of the above multiplicative constant. It narrows the transition regime where the behavior is still open, since it is known that when δ<3/2 for two-dimensional networks, or δ<1 for one-dimensional networks, the transport capacity cannot generally be bounded by any multiple of the


This article presents a study of the plasticity model applicability to concrete in a theoretical framework that generalizes the formulation of constitutive models for physically nonlinear analysis of structures. In this sense, the theoretical framework for the computational implementation of the plasticity mathematical theory is described, detailing the models formulations capable to describe the inelastic behavior of concrete. The loading surfaces associated to Drucker Prager and Ottosen criterion are highlighted. Furthermore, the Cutting Plane return mapping algorithm, necessary to the integration of constitutive relations that govern the behavior of the material in the context of computational plasticity, is described. Finally, numerical simulations are presented, such as the direct tension loading and three-point bending tests. The results of these simulations are compared with those from the literature to verify the model stability and accuracy.


Author(s): Fox, Megan Elisa | Advisor(s): Pizzolato, Jane | Abstract: This research studied sophomore challenges and issues related to "slump," at a large four-year, urban public university in California. The study investigated sophomore slump in three main areas: (1) academic success, (2) engagement, and (3) satisfaction. The study used survey research methods to quantitatively compare differences in experience between first, second and third year students at this site. I paid special attention to the experiences of students related to sophomore slump, using Kuh's (2007) constructs of student behaviors and institutional conditions to guide my inquiry and identify trends, patterns, and insights surrounding the sophomore slump phenomenon. To further explore differences in experience between sophomores and other class years, certain key demographic variables were used to tease out potential differences that the literature claims impact student experience. Those variables were sex, racial group, major, and first generation status. The sample included 226 respondents representing currently enrolled first, second and third year students attending the institution who completed the survey issued in the Spring quarter of 2014. The survey included questions taken verbatim from three previously established instruments: the Academic Self- Efficacy Scale (Chemers et al., 2001); the Engaged Learning Index (Schreiner a Louis, 2008); and the Adult Trait Hope Scale (Snyder et al., 1991). Data were analyzed using inferential statistics to compare mean scores on each of the measures between class years, looking for indicators of slump as well as differences by group. Findings showed no indication of slump on any of the measures, but instead, upward trends on multiple measures. However, findings also indicated significant differences between the experiences of student groups by race, especially for Asian Pacific Islanders when compared to White/Caucasian students and students in other racial groups.


The changing structure of the electric power industry is bringing transmission pricing into a new focus. This paper develops a very efficient algorithm for determining how much use each generator is making of a transmission line and what each generator's contribution is to the system losses. Such problems cannot be solved by only using Kirchoff's laws. The paper first proposes two current decomposition axioms based on which the theories and models are established for the load flow analysis in wheeling costing. To create an efficient algorithm, graph theory is employed. The paper proves that there is no directed circuit in a load flow directed graph. According to this theorem a very simple and efficient algorithm based on recursive elimination process is suggested. Finally, the calculation results for the UK 30 node system are given to illustrate the usefulness and effectiveness of the algorithm proposed in the paper.


In this study, the influence of an external electric field (EEF) on the vibrational spectra of an imidazolium-based ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium hexfluorophosphate (EMIMPF6), in the wavenumber range from 0 to 4000 cm(-1) was probed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation at 350 K. The results showed that the experimentally obtained spectrum could be reproduced by the calculated vibrational bands (VBs) in the wavenumber range from 400 to 4000 cm(-1) using MD simulation without any EEF. When the EEF applied increased from 0 to 9 V.nm(-1), the VB intensities at 50.0 and 199.8 cm(-1) increased continuously and then tended to be saturated, while the VB intensities from 400 to 4000 cm(-1) decrease and eventually disappear. Moreover, the VB at 50.0 cm(-1) was red-shifted to similar to 16.7 cm(-1) and then increased to 33.3 cm(-1) as the EEF was increased from 0 to 2 and then to 3 V.nm(-1) and higher. The VB at 3396.6 cm(-1) was redshifted to similar to 16.7 cm(-1) and then increased to 33.3 cm(-1) as the EEF was increased from 0 to 3 and then to 4 V.nm(-1) and higher; however, the position of other VBs from 0 to 4000 cm(-1) remain almost unchanged. Based on further analysis of the simulation results and previously reported studies, for the VB at 50.0 cm(-1), the increasing EEF enhances the polarity between cations and anions; thus, the difference in dipole moment between the cations and the anions increases, which continually increases the VB intensity until saturation is reached. For the VB at 199.8 cm(-1), the increasing EEF intensifies the twisting of the ethyl chain, which enhances the VB intensity until saturation. For the other VBs from 400 to 4000 cm(-1), the increasing EEF makes the orientation of the cations and anions in EMIMPF6 more consistent; thus, it can be conjectured that such consistent orientation may weaken the VB intensities and can even make them disappear. The redshift of VB at 50.0 cm(-1) may occur because the EEF breaks the distribution of the electrostatic field inside EMIMPF6 and then weakens the interactions between cations and anions. The redshift of VB at 3396.6 cm(-1) may be attributed to the EEF weakening the stretching vibration of the hydrogen bonds formed between the N atoms and the acidic hydrogen atoms on the cationic imidazolium rings. The EEF does not change the positions of the other VBs because the inherent stretching, bending, and rocking vibration of functional groups are not affected by the EEF.


—In this paper, we propose a comprehensive reduced-complexity detector both for hard-decision-aided as well as for the soft-decision-assisted Spatial Modulation (SM)/Space-Time Shift Keying (STSK). More explicitly, the detection of the SM scheme, which activates a single one out of M antennas to transmit a single LPSK/QAM symbol, may be carried out by detecting the antenna activation index m and the LPSK/QAM symbol s l separately, so that the detection complexity may be reduced from the order of O(M · L) to the lower bound of O(M + log 2 L). However, the QAM aided STSK hard detection proposed in [1] results in a performance loss. Furthermore, the Max-Log-MAP algorithm proposed for soft STSK detection in [2] only takes into account the maximum a posteriori probabilities, which also imposed a performance degradation. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel solution for hard-decision-aided SM/STSK detection, which retains its optimal performance, despite its reduced detection complexity, when either LPSK or LQAM is employed. Furthermore, we propose the reduced-complexity Approx-Log-MAP algorithm conceived for the soft-decision-aided SM/STSK detector, in order to replace the sub-optimal Max-Log-MAP algorithm.


Sulfate solubility in glass is a key parameter in many commercial glasses and nuclear waste glasses. This report summarizes key publications specific to sulfate solubility experimental methods and the underlying physical chemistry calculations. The published methods and experimental data are used to verify the calculations in this report and are expanded to a range of current technical interest. The calculations and experimental methods described in this report will guide several experiments on sulfate solubility and saturation for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Enhanced Waste Glass Models effort. There are several tables of sulfate gas equilibrium values at high temperature to guide experimental gas mixing and to achieve desired SO3 levels. This report also describes the necessary equipment and best practices to perform sulfate saturation experiments for molten glasses. Results and findings will be published when experimental work is finished and this report is validated from the data obtained.


This paper documents the thermal insulation effect of a screen installed inside a vertical rectangular enclosure (e.g., double-glazed window). The screen is a venetian blind system made out of horizontal strips that can be rotated. The focus is on the "closed" position, where the strips almost touch. The effect of this permeable screen on the temperature field, the flow field, and the overall heat transfer rate is determined numerically. The study shows that there exists a ceiling (critical) conductance for the air leakage through the screen, above which the screen does not cause a significant drop in the overall heat transfer rate. A numerical example shows how this critical conductance can be used to calculate the critical spacing that can be tolerated between two consecutive strips in the screen.


Normal cellular function is dependent upon proper regulation of the Raf kinases, mutation of which can result in human cancer and certain developmental disorders. Inhibitors to the high activity, oncogenic V600E-B-Raf are currently in clinical use; however, caution must be taken, given that the use of these inhibitors in cells lacking V600E-B-Raf can promote heterodimerization of B-Raf and C-Raf, resulting in paradoxical pathway activation instead of inhibition. Thus, a full understanding of the Raf activation process is critical for the development of effective therapeutic strategies. Toward this end, we investigated the importance of dimerization in Raf activation and identified novel differences between B-Raf and C-Raf. In the context of normal cellular signaling, we find that growth factor stimulation induces strong B-Raf/C-Raf heterodimerization as well as some Raf homodimerization, and increases the kinase activity of both B-Raf and C-Raf. In contrast, growth factor stimulation has little effect on A-Raf. To further explore the B-Raf and C-Raf interactions, we utilized protein mutations in the dimer interface that either enhance (E586K-B-Raf and E478K-C-Raf) or prevent (R509H-B-Raf and R401H-C-Raf) Raf dimerization. Interestingly, these mutations had only a modest effect on the kinase activity of B-Raf; however, the E-K mutation greatly enhanced C-Raf activity and the R-H mutation completely abolished C-Raf kinase activity. In addition, knockdown of C-Raf was found to have little effect on growth factor-mediated B-Raf activation, whereas knockdown of B-Raf dramatically inhibited C-Raf activation following stimulation, highlighting the dependence of C-Raf activation on B-Raf. Next, we examined the effects of dimerization on mutationally-activated B-Raf and C-Raf proteins that are associated with human disease. Strikingly, we found that although alterations in the dimer interface had an impact on the ability of all the mutant proteins to heterodimerize, these alterations only affected the biological activity (as measured in focus forming assays) of B-Raf and C-Raf proteins with moderate to low kinase activity, but not B-Raf proteins possessing high kinase activity. Based on the amino acid sequence of the dimer interface region, a Raf-Dimer-Interface (RDI) peptide was designed. The RDI peptide was found to bind both B-Raf and C-Raf and could disrupt Raf heterodimerization in response to growth factor stimulation and inhibit the biological activity of mutant Raf proteins with moderate to low kinase activity. Together these data indicate that dimerization is important for Raf function under normal signaling conditions and in certain mutational settings. Moreover, targeting the Raf dimer interface represents a new inhibitor strategy with therapeutic potential. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1239. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1239


Diffuse metal pollution from mining impacted sediment is widely recognised as a potential source of contamination to river systems and may significantly hinder the achievement of European Union Water Framework Directive objectives. Redox-transitional zones that form along metal contaminated river banks as a result of flood and drought cycles could cause biogeochemical changes that alter the behaviour of polyvalent metals iron and manganese and anions such as sulphur. Trace metals are often partitioned with iron, manganese and sulphur minerals in mining-contaminated sediment, therefore the dissolution and precipitation of these minerals may influence the mobility of potentially toxic trace metals. Research indicates that freshly precipitated metal oxides and sulphides may be more "reactive" (more adsorbent and prone to dissolution when conditions change) than older crystalline forms. Fluctuations at the oxic-anoxic interface brought about through changes in the frequency and duration of flood and drought episodes may therefore influence the reactivity of secondary minerals that form in the sediment and the flux of dissolved trace metal release. UK climate change models predict longer dry periods for some regions, interspersed with higher magnitude flood events. If we are to fully comprehend the future environmental risk these climate change events pose to mining impacted river systems it is recommended that research efforts focus on identifying the primary controls on trace metal release at the oxic-anoxic interface for flood and drought cycles of different duration and frequency. This paper critically reviews the literature regarding biogeochemical processes that occur at different temporal scales during oxic, reducing and dry periods and focuses on how iron and sulphur based minerals may alter in form and reactivity and influence the mobility of trace metal contaminants. It is clear that changes in redox potential can alter the composition of secondary iron and sulphur minerals and influence the sorption of toxic trace metals and susceptibility to dissolution when further redox potential changes occur. However further work is needed to determine: (i) The extent to which different duration and frequency of wet and dry cycles influences the dissolution and precipitation of iron and sulphur minerals in mining contaminated river bank sediment; (ii) The temporal effects on mineral reactivity (sorption capacity and susceptibility to dissolution); (iii) The key biogeochemical processes that control the mobility of contaminant trace metals under these dynamic redox potential conditions.


A method for the design of electronically steerable passive array radiator (ESPAR) antennas is proposed herein, based on impedance-matrix measurements and a genetic algorithm. The proposed technique is best suited for cases where commercial elements are used as building blocks for ESPAR development, since in such cases the conventional numerically based techniques used in the literature may not be applicable. An emulated ESPAR design and respective results are presented. They demonstrate the applicability and performance of the proposed technique, as well as its consistency with results derived from a commercially available electromagnetic simulator.


We report a computational study of an energetically favorable pathway for the excited-state dissociation of a tetrahedral P4 molecule into two P2 molecules via the simultaneous breaking of four chemical bonds along a highly symmetric (D2d) reaction pathway. Along this pathway, a degeneracy occurs between the first excited state of P4 and the ground state of 2P2 at a lower total energy (ca. 4.7 eV) than the initial state, indicating that the initial photoexcitation provides sufficient energy for the dissociation without significant kinetic barriers. We also found that sequential dissociation of the four P–P bonds exhibits larger activation barriers thus making this a less viable dissociation pathway. Our computational investigation uncovers complicated photochemistry in elemental phosphorus, and suggests a likely mechanism for the environmentally friendly inclusion of phosphorus atoms into organic molecules.


Eye health has a major impact on the quality of life. Contact lenses are preferred by an increasing number of people to improve physical appearance, to correct a visual system disorders or by curiosity. Currently, there is a great diversity regarding the therapeutic and colored contact lenses which meet the requirements for a quality medical act. An important role in counseling is provided by the ophthalmologist and the pharmacist of the community pharmacy, who have the necessary skills to properly inform patients.


This thesis describes research into the developmental roles of IFT80, a protein component of intraflagellar transport (IFT) complex B. Mutations in IFT80 have been shown to be causative in both asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy (ATD) and short rib polydactyly (SRP) type III. Both diseases are autosomal recessive chondrodysplasias and share clinical and radiological similarities including shortening of the long bones and constriction of the thoracic cage. A genetrapped Ift80 line was used to investigate the role of Ift80 during murine development. This mouse model is a hypomorph due to low level wildtype transcript production. Hypomorphic levels of Ift80 are often embryonic lethal highlighting a key role for Ift80 in development. In cases where Ift80gt/gt mice survive to postnatal stages they phenocopy both ATD and SRP type III by exhibiting growth retardation, shortening of the long bones, constriction of the ribcage, and polydactyly. Analysis of the Hedgehog signalling pathway, a pathway shown to be abrogated in multiple models of IFT dysfunction, showed that reduction in Ift80 expression levels leads to reduced activity of the pathway. Processing of the key transcription factor Gli3 into its repressor form was seen to be altered leading to an abnormal activator/repressor ratio which may account for the observed pathway disruption. Widespread disruption to Wnt signalling, a pathway not commonly investigated in IFT models, was also seen in this line. This defective cellular signalling was not accompanied by the loss or malformation of cilia as seen in some knockout models of other IFT component genes. Phenotypes indicative of defects in cilia structure or function such as situs inversus, cystic renal disease and retinal degeneration were also not observed. SF-TAP and SILAC proteomics approaches were used to identify protein binding partners of IFT80. These suggested IFT80 associates primarily with a non-core subset of complex B proteins. A putative novel binding partner, NUDC was also identified in these screens. NUDC is known to play a role in dynein transport along microtubules, and was shown to localise to a region near the base of the cilium. A model is proposed in which an interaction between Ift80 and Nudc influences dynein entry into the cilium, and that reduced efficiency of this interaction in Ift80gt/gt mice causes a mild abrogation of retrograde transport leading to disrupted cellular signalling and thus to the skeletal phenotypes observed.


The paper deals with forming e-Government for building the effective state management system in Russia and the analysis of e-Government elements' influence towards creating a positive image of Russian regions in order to support their competitiveness on a worldwide scale. The concept "e-Government" means to connect administration processes with technological solutions in a certain environment that makes governmental organizations promote citizen-oriented strategies and increase the efficiency of their activity and the openness of information. Nowadays one of the most pressing objectives in Russia is to build an effective system of state administration. The corruption of state machinery and bureaucratism are the main barriers preventing economic growth of Russia, the development of small and medium business, the inflow of foreign investments into the country. The President of Russia, D. Medvedev, emphasized the importance of this problem and headed the Anticorruption Council. However, Russian business reputation on the world arena consists of the reputation of the subjects of the Russian Federation. That's why the defining factor for the reputation of the country is the policy of the regional authorities in the forming of a favourable image of the territory in order to create the effective administration system. Today the reformation of the state sector through the development of the conception of e-Government is one of the most promising tendencies of the administrative reformation in the world.